With the recent closing of Pacific Sunwear in the Hutchinson Mall, many residents are wondering, "What's next?"

Saturday

Mar 22, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 22, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Jessica Self - The Hutchinson News - jself@hutchnews.com

And recent trends might validate their concerns.

Since November, four retail stores - PacSun, Hot Topic, Leather Unlimited and Kitchen Kreations - and two food establishments, Villa Pizza and a coffee shop, have closed their doors.

No new stores have opened in that same time frame.

"It just seems so empty," Hutchinson resident Rosalyn McGillivray said of the mall. "You can't spend a whole day there shopping because you just don't have the choices in stores."

A walk through the mall this week and a site map on the owner's Web site shows 23 of the 69 spaces - or about a third of the mall - is vacant.

Still, despite the obvious vacant storefronts, the mall is operating at 90 percent occupancy - with only about 52,500 square feet empty in the 525,000-square-foot interior.

"It's deceiving," said manager Dan Flores of the mall he calls "healthy." "People say the mall looks empty because they see large empty storefronts such as the former Old Navy front. In reality, if we had the smaller storefronts empty people wouldn't notice."

Residents are noticing, though, said Dave Kerr, president of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce.

"We are concerned about the mall, and we have expressed that to them," he said of conversations he has tried to begin with the Illinois-based Rubloff Development Corp., which owns the mall.

"We are encouraging them to cooperate in attempts to upgrade the retail availability in Hutchinson," Kerr said. "It is an area that needs attention."

As a shopper, McGillivray agrees. She admits she does most of her shopping at the New Market Square in Maize because of the variety of stores the location offers.

"It offers everything I need," she said, adding it takes only about 45 minutes to get there. "There is a superstore, a variety of clothing stores, a bookstore and lots of restaurants. We typically will spend an entire day shopping."

New Market Square is a different type of shopping center, though, Flores said, and one that shouldn't be compared to the Hutchinson Mall.

"They have a huge population base to draw from," he said. "I have always said if we want to increase stores, or draw major retailers, we have to increase population. And that isn't happening in Hutchinson."

Instead, the mall has made a shift in the past five years toward adding a mix of retail and non-retail tenants to fill vacancies. Now, six tenants are considered non-retail: the Armed Forces Recruiting Center, Kansas Kids Museum, Via Christi rehabilitation center, ESSDACK Learning Center, the Division of Motor Vehicles' driver's license examination office and Realtor Premier Properties. This group accounts for about 7 percent of the mall in terms of square footage.

"It creates a nice mix," Flores said. "If you have too many shoe stores or too many clothing stores, you have to share the dollars coming in."

That isn't convincing to McGillivray who, like many shoppers, wants a variety.

"Typically, if we need something quick, we will stay here and do it," she said. "But if we have time, my preference is really Wichita."

Store managers say they are noticing less "foot traffic" - instead, they believe a lot of customers park outside the store they want to visit and spend little time browsing the rest of the mall.

"Foot traffic used to be very important," Dillard's manager Lisa Gleason said. "But we just aren't seeing it. Because of that we have switched our focus to fully servicing the customers that do come in, not necessarily on counting how many customers come through."

Kristi Sherrer, manager of Deb Shop, notes the same trend.

"We see quite a bit of traffic in our store, but the mall is pretty dead," she said. "We have customers that say they come in just for our store, not necessarily a day at the mall."

And as more stores leave, she is worried the mall will continue to suffer.

"It just seems there are less stores every year," she said.

Chamber president Kerr shares her concern.

"When the mall first opened, it had a complete variety of shops," he said of the 23-year-old mall, which once housed a bookstore, a music store, a toy store and several eating establishments. "We are aware that an enclosed mall might not be the newest way of presenting retail, but we are concerned the ownership is not reinvesting in making the mall better."

Kerr said he has offered to go to Illinois to meet with the mall owners, but he is having "difficulty getting them to respond."

Repeated calls from The News to Rubloff Development Corp. were also unreturned this week.

Flores said he was unable to speak for the owners, noting the representative that services the Hutchinson Mall is "very busy with several other properties" in addition to the Hutchinson location.

However, several changes are "in the works" at the mall, Flores said. The entry sign - which has been damaged for several months - will soon be repaired or replaced with an electronic sign.

"We have had to go through the process with the insurance company," he said, "but it is a top priority."

And there are plans for new stores, he said. He wouldn't reveal details, but said they are currently in negotiations with a national chain clothing store to occupy the former Old Navy location.

"I think it will go over well," he said of the store that should be announced in the next month as details are finalized.

Still, McGillivray remains skeptical.

"We just don't have the stores where most of us like to shop," she said. "A few new stores would be nice, but it won't compare to the variety in Wichita."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.